What it was like living in America in 1983

The world was a very different place when your mother birthed you. For one thing, we had 100 million fewer people in the United States. Where have they put all these new Americans? Phoenix and Las Vegas, I suppose.

People made less money, but that’s OK because home prices were significantly lower. Even though we had a Republican president, only 24 percent of Americans said they aligned with that political party.

The Police and Michael Jackson—whose singles topped the charts in 1983—may seem much more palatable than Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars, who currently dominate the airwaves.

And technology? Well, just take a look at the device you’re using to read this. Chances are it’s light years cooler than whatever they had in 1983.